Special Education Teacher Candidate Assessment

Abstract

Teacher preparation has been under intense scrutiny in recent years. In order for preparation of special education teacher candidates to remain viable, candidate assessment practices must apply practices identified in the extant literature base, while special education teacher education researchers must extend this base with rigorous efforts to link preservice candidate assessment of knowledge, skills, and dispositions, to authentic experiences in the field, in-service professional practice, and student achievement. The authors review prior research on special education candidate assessment from 2000 to the present in three primary domains: skills and knowledge related to academics, behavior, collaboration, and transition; dispositional factors, including attitudes about disability, inclusion, and diversity; and authentic, field-based assessments, including measures of candidates’ impact on students and their induction experiences. Implications for policy and practice are provided.